Hoe.



UNITED STATES P TENT FFICE.

WILLIAM R. JENKINS, OF BELLEFONTE, PENNSYLVANIA.

HOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 671,381, dated April 2.1901.

Application filed December 8, 1899. Serial No. 739,728. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM R. JENKINS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bellefonte, in the county of Center and State ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hoes, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in hoes.

Hitherto the usual methods of making hoes have been either to use ablank of sufficient thickness, where a solid hoe was required, to makethe shank much thicker than the blade, and then to roll and hammer theblade to the required thickness and forge the shank into shape, andfinally trim the blade to proper form, or else it has generally been thepractice to out the blade from sheet metal, making the shank of separatematerial, and se curing them together by means of rivets.

The object of my invention is to make a complete hoe (except the handleof course) from one piece of sheet metal without forging or riveting.Both the blade and shank are stamped from a single piece of sheet metalof the requisite thickness for the finished article to form both theblade and shank, and the shank is bent into gooseneck shape lengthwiseand transversely crimped in order to give it the required strength andstifiness, thus requiring no forging, rolling, or plating of the blade,as has been the custom. In other words, the principal point of noveltyand merit of my present invention is in the construction of the shank ina sheet of metal of uniform thickness at and near the point where itjoins the blade by the V-shaped crimp that joins the shank, therebyproduc ing a hoe formed from thin sheet metal having a shank with therequisite strength and proper shape without forging, riveting, orreinforcing by the use of additional metal, the original sheet fromwhich the blank is out being of the thickness of the blade and noadditional thickness being necessary to form the shank. With theseobjects in view my invention consists in certain novel features ofconstruction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafterdescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation. Fig.2 is a view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, thus showing the shank insection and the blade in front elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionalview through the longitudinal center of the hoe. Fig. 4c is a transversesection on line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view showing the tangmodified to form a socket; and Fig. 6 is a view of the blank from whichmy improved hoe is struck, the dotted lines indicating its modifiedoutline for the construction indicated in Fig. 5.

The blank is cut from sheet metal of uniform thickness in substantiallythe shape shown, and it is struck up into shape, the blade portion beingindicated by the numeral 1, the shank by 2, and the tang by 3. Thebladeis of any approved design. The shank is goosenecked in generalform, and being of sheet metal and of the same thickness as the blade itis crimped into U shape or the reverse n to give it adequate strengthand rigidity at a point where in a hoe the greatest strain always comes.The shank begins to form at the point where it joins the blade, and theblade is stiifened at this point, where the strain comes, by theV-shaped oifset 4, which offset may extend up or down, thereby giving anextra amount of strength at this point, which otherwise would be a pointof greatest weakness, as is well known to any one accustomed to the useof a hoe. The tang portion 3 is formed by rolling the sheet metaltogether tightly or to form an open tube, and it is preferably angularin cross-section to give it increased strength and to lessen theliability of its splitting the wooden handle when driven into it.

Instead of rolling the shank into a tang, as described, this portionmight be given the form of a socket 5, as shown in the modification, toreceive the handle of the hoe.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a light, cheap, and strongcommercial article is produced without the necessity of forging,riveting parts together, or reinforcing. The entire article is ofuniform thickness, as stated, and it is strengthened at the otherwiseweak points by the crimping of the shank and the V-shaped, offset wherethe shank and blade merge into each other.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. As an article of manufacture, a hoe composed of sheet metal ofuniform thickness throughout, constituting a blade and a shank, saidshank having a general gooseneck form, a V-shaped offset formed at thepoint of juncture between the shank and blade which 01fset extends intothe body of the blade in the center and inside face thereof, forming arib which gives the blade the required strength and stiifness, therebyrequiring no forging, riveting or reinforcing, by the use of additionalmetal.

2. As an article of manufacture, a hoe composed of sheet metal ofuniform thickness throughout to form a blade and shank in a singleintegral piece of metal, the shank joined to-the blade in aninwardly-extending V-shaped offset to give strength to the blade at thatpoint and the shank having a goose necked shape and crimped transverselyto give it strength, and rolled together at its end to form a tang forinsertion into the toolhandle.

3. As an article of manufacture, a hoe composed of sheet metal ofuniform thickness throughout and cut and bent to form a blade and shank,the blade having a V-shaped 01fset extending transversely through thecenter from'a point near the middle of the blade and continuing into theshank, the shank being U-shaped in transverse section and constituting acontinuation of the offset, the shank haviiig' a direction approximatelyin alinement with the blade for some distance after it leaves the latterand then bent approximately at right angles, edgewise thereof andterminating in a rolled tang adapted for attachment to the hoe-handle.

4. As an article of manufacture, a hoe composed of sheet metal ofuniform thickness throughout and cut and bent to form a blade and shank,the latter having a general gooseneck form and strengthened by means ofa transverse roll in the metal composing it and the blade having atransverse ofiset formed in its center on the inner surface thereof, as

an unbroken continuation of the rolled shank whereby to give strengthand rigidity to the blade In testimony whereof I aifix my signature inpresence of two witnesses. Y 7

WILLIAM R. J ENKINS. Witnesses:

S. D. GETTIG, JNo. F. BOWEN.

